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18 Jun 2014

Television and Broadway collide with Emmy-winner J.J. Abrams and Oscar-winner Cameron Crowe penning the new pilot "Roadies" for Showtime, which is co-produced by Crowe along with Tony and Emmy award-nominee Winnie Holzman, the creator of Broadway's long-running hit musical Wicked.

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The announcement of the pilot order was given June 18 by Showtime president David Nevins.

The pilot is billed by the network as follows, "'Roadies' follows a hot-ticket tour, but with a simple twist: the band is in the background and the roadies take the spotlight. It’s an inside look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of characters who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way."

Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, known for a string of hit series including "Person of Interest," "Fringe" and "Felicity," will produce along with Vinyl Films and Dooley & Company Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. Holzman will serve as showrunner on the production.

Statements from the production and creative time all reference a long-time desire and satisfaction to finally have the project underway with this specific theatre and television power-house team. Holzman is quoted as saying, "The opportunity to work with Cameron Crowe is both an honor and a dream come true," and Abrams is quoted in a statement saying, "We had been talking about the series for so long, but when he actually handed me the script, it was funnier and sweeter and wilder than I had ever imagined...and there is no one I've been hoping to work with more than the truly brilliant Winnie Holzman."